Uyuni Salt Flats

After sleeping off our challenging journey to Uyuni, we were very excited to be joining a small group in a 4x4 to explore the Bolivian salt flats and surroundings which we have heard are some of the best in the world.

Train graveyeard
For some inexplicable reason, the first stop on the tour was what can only be described as a train graveyard. As the train service in Bolivia is nearly non-existant (we tried unsuccessfully to get tickets on the train to our next stop, Villazon, before we left for the tour, but there are only two trains a week and therefore impossible to get tickets...), I wouldn´t have thought that there would be much call for a place for trains to go when they die here but there you go... Having said that, it was great fun to climb on some of the old bangers and it made for some great photo opps!

The Salt Flats
The main event was much better than expected and the recent rains gave us the opportunity to take some very interesting photos...

In the middle of the salt flats we discovered an island which we parked up near to and when exploring. Some of the cactus there was supposed to be over 900 years old!

We had a lovely lunch on the beach of the island and as we had finished up a little earlier than expected, Henri, our driver, promised that we could stop off at a spot where the salt was really impressive so that we could take some "trick" photos. It turns out that on the salt, the camera looses all perspective and allows you to take some really funky shots. Ironically my reasonably "low-tech" camera takes better photos in this environment than Johan´s which had problems focusing on anything :)

Salt Hostel
The first day exhausted, we drove for a while to get to our lodgings for the night. Turns out that when you are surrounded by mostly salt, you use it for everything, including building materials. Our room was made completely from blocks of salt, the floor was made of ground salt, the cement around the windows was salt, the bed, bedstead and bedside tables were all salt... Fantastic! Thankfully the roof was thatch and there was a good mattress and blankets on the bed which made the room quite comfortable, if unique. Hot showers cost 5 Bs and were very welcome!


Day 2 - Lagoons
We were well into "middle-of-nowhere" territory by now with the odd quinoa plant or vicuña (a type of wild llama) to break the now increasingly desert landscape. The morning of the second day involved lots of driving before finally reaching the first of a series of flamingo populated lagoons. The flamingos generally ignored us unless we really got too close, which allowed Johan to take some truely stunning photos. The lagoons were looking a bit sparce - I guess that it isn´t the right time of year to see them, so we largely missed the vibrant colours that they are supposed to reflect. Still, the sight of water in a desert at 4000m altitude is always impressive.

The day ended near to Laguna Colorado where we could see a bit of its pink colour. Our lodgins were the only building in sight and were where everyone on these tours stayed. We had a large room for the 6 of us and after dinner (with wine), we hit the sack. Tomorrow morning, Henri promised to wake us up well before the crack of dawn to leave by 5am!!

Final day - Aguas Calientes
True to his word, we were awakened by a loud banging on our door at 4:30 am and we all groggily roused ourself from our deep slumber, pulled on our clothes (no showers here) and packed our stuff and ourselves into the 4x4. After driving for about an hour and a half we reached the geisers which were the first stop. With no pesky health and safety regulations, we where able to walk as close to the geisers as we dared. They were beautiful to see with the rising sun in the background.

After taking lots of pictures, we jumped back into the 4x4 and headed for our next stop, the hot springs where we had an early morning dip before tucking into pancakes for breakfast. Lovely!

The tour was unofficially over now so the next stop was the nearby Chilean boarder where we dropped off two of our number and then settled in for the 8 hour ride back to Uyuni. It was a very visually satisfying tour and we were able to see many beautiful natural scenes. I read somewhere that Bolivia was a great undiscovered tourist destination and in many ways I think that it is true. It is a very basic place though and if you can deal with that, then this is the place for you.

As for me, I am looking forward to hot water, busses with toilets and high speed internet access which have all been promised to us in Argentina. Bring it on!

Bus adventures

We managed to get the bus to Uyuni, but as it turns out we´re not having much luck with buses at the moment, how is this for a record:

1. Cuzco - Puno, 33% longer time than expected since the bus had a faulty gearbox and couldn´t get into 3rd. So when we had spent 8 hours on it chugging along and being overtaken by anyting with an engine, we had to change into a local minivan. Fail


2. Puno - Arequipa, cancelled because the bus strike lasted more than three days instead of the billed one. It still wasn´t resolved when we left. Fail


3. Puno - Copacabana turned out to be a minivan (collectivo) instead of a bus and it dropped us off at the border crossing and left us hoping to find someone to pick us up at the other side. We did, but it toook us about 35-40 minutes. Barely scraped through, but a pass


4. Copacabana - La Paz. Got us there, on time, only the small nerve tingling ferry crossing to keep us on edge. Pass.


5. La Paz - Uyuni. Multiple epic fail. This busride started out positive, even though we really would have preferred to take the train. We bought the ticket early in the morning at 20 bolivianos cheaper than expected (2 pounds, but still a small victory). When we got to the bus it was there on time and looking better than we feared. It even had blankets and a toilet. Phew. Then things started to head south. We were pulling out of the bus station, on time, when the driver accidentally reversed into a small obstacle. Another bus. A parked bus. The damage to our bus wasnt that bad, just a little bump at the back, but all vital parts were working, however the other bus now needs a new windscreen, rearview mirror and actually, most of the front. After about an hour of commotion the company announced that for "insurance reasons" the bus we were on would not be allowed to leave the station, and the company was trying to sort out other arrangements. 3 hours later we were ushered on to another bus, much much nicer. However it only went half way, and had a deaf driver who blared music at maximum volume until about midnight. So at 2 am we changed bus for the final 8 hour leg and got onto an old banger without heating system, toilet or blankets, or suspension. The next 8 hours were spent on bumpy back roads and, we are sure, some "shortcuts" across fields where the bus mystically stopped several times and had to reverse to get unstuck. At some points the driver was also on the phone which did not make it any better. It was ok when he was actually was driving though, apart from the fact that the lack of suspension made all the windows shake open and the near-zero degree air kept flowing in. So after a very very long unpleasant bus ride we arrived in Uyuni, shaken and a little stirred as well. We've decided to not trust Panamericano again...

We've gotten some sleep now though and are looking forward to the tour of the salt flats (there will be a lot of pictures then) and to get to Argentina where we hear the bus companies are much better....

La Paz and Beyond

So we got on the bus to La Paz, which it turns out is a rather eventful ride. We were prepared for a ride through the bolivian high plains looking out over the andes. What we had forgotten about was the fact that we'd have to cross a small sound in Lake Titicaca in order to not have to take a 2 hour detour into Peru. So after about an hour we were kicked off the bus and ushered on a small little boat that took us across. And in the meantime our bus got on a small barge that would take it across. The display when we got off our bus wasnt too encouraging - there was a much smaller bus than ours that failed to make it onto the barge and the front wheels were stuck between it and the pier. And further out we could see kids on all fours bucketing water out of other barges which were obviously leaking. At that point we started thinking of the phonecall to the insurance company - we lost our bags because our bus sunk on Lake Titicaca. Not sure about the outcome of that...

We eventually made it to La Paz thoug, the bus didnt sink, and tried to make arrangements to get to Uyuni, where we have a tour booked on tuesday. Unfortunately it turns out that the trains there do not run on mondays and the other alternative are 12 hour overnight buses. Which means we have to leave La Paz a day early, which is a shame. Although we're not too disappointed since it is just a big city and we've already seen plenty of those. So next stop will be Uyuni and we´ll enjoy an extra day there instead.

Hello Bolivia

The Bolivian verison of Copacabana is a little town on lake Titicaca, which means its quite similar to Puno (cold and wet) only the internet hasn't really made it there yet. On the plus side though, Copacabana has equally good food - cheaper, and better activities and even a beach.





The day after we arrived we decided to get an early boat to Sun Island, and while looking for tickets we bumped into a friend we met in Puno, Maria Celeste and her friend Stuart. So we got on the same boat and had some nice company for the day. After a two hour slow-boat to the northern port we got off and went to the local museum for a quick explanation of the cultures that are prominent on the island. After the whirlwind 5-minute speach we had another 3 minutes to look around the displays at the finds from the area. After that we walked up to the temple area, which is still used today and sprouts a sacred rock, Titicarrca, and an ancient labyrinth. It was a really nice tour the only drawback was the climb up to it, about 400 altitude meters which put us at 4300 meter above sealevel.

After that tour we decided to take the scenic walk to the southern port where the boat back to Copacabana would leave from. Its a 3 hour walk across some hills (yes, more uphill clmbing required) that took us past ancient ruins and a lot of sheep and alpaca pastures. All the time with a fantastic view of the island, some nearby rock islands and lake Titicaca in general. Even the brief rain and the scamming islanders selling 'tickets' to enter the various parts of the island couldn't dampen our mood. Though the women at the last point really tried. I've played a bit of football and ice hockey in my days, but man, that old lady had a mean body-check. We managed to slip by her though and made it safely down to the boat and back to Copacabana.

Once back on dry land we grabbed dinner and a few drinks with Maria Celeste and Stuart and decided that the next day we should probably go to La Paz and sort out our travel arrangements to get down to Uyuni, before all the buses and trains were booked out. So we got our tickets for the next day and agreed to get in touch with them in La Paz, since they are also heading there.

Goodbye Peru

After leaving Cusco, we caught a bus to Puno, the largest town on the Peruvian shores of Lake Titicaca (3820m) to spend some time, explore the lake and the surrounding region.

Our bus left at the reasonable time of 8:30am and was scheduled to take 6 hours to take us to Puno. Great, we thought, we'll grab some biscuits and bananas and have a late lunch by the lake in Puno. Not so great... turns out that our bus driver couldn't find third gear and so when we were 5 hours into the trip and we passed the half-way point, we knew we were in trouble. Hungry and grumpy at this point, the bus didn't even stop for us to buy some "chicolo con queso" from the ladies shouting at us at every pause. When we finally stopped at the local Juliaca airport for us to change busses, we were very relieved (especially after picking us some food at the airport). To make a long story short, we finally arrived in Puno at 5pm, 3 hours after we were supposed to. Recommadation: don't use the San Luis bus company!

Puno was ok, a little more basic and less attractive than Cusco but our hostel (Inka's Rest) was great and provided us with the opportunity to grab some much needed R&R after the last hectic few days.

The only tour that we managed was a boat trip to the floating islands in the Lake Titicaca which were built and habitated by the Uros, a pre-Inca people who have survived and kept many of their customs since that time. I can't say that we particularly enjoyed the visit as it seemed a little like a human zoo at times and there was a lot of pressure to buy some souvineers from them, but it was certainly a very different experience than anywhere else that we have visited so far.

We are back in Puno now and we found out this morning that there is a bus strike which means that we now won't be able to do our trip to the Coca Canyon as planned. So now we're going to head to Copacabana (in Boliva) a few days earlier instead.

We've had some real high and low points in Peru. The stay in the Amazon jungle is definately one of the highlights of the entire trip so far and the hike to see the ruins at Pisaq will stand out as one of my favourite days. However getting ill in Cusco and the bus trip to Puno will also be in the bottom list. We have enjoyed our time here and we are now looking forward to heading South and experiencing Bolivia and most of all, Argentina.

Found some more ruins

Pisaq turned out to be a real gem, we knew that Sunday was a big market day (which is why we did the sacred valley walk the day before) so we got up early and went to explore it first thing. We got there as most people were still setting up shop so we quickly rescheduled it for later and instead headed for the other reason we stayed a few nights here. The extensive number of ruins that are spread out on the mountainsides just outside the village. When we checked in to our hostel we were told that there were two ways of seing the ruins.

1. Walk up to the furthest one (also the highest one) and then down again this would take about 7- 8 hours
2. Take a taxi to the highest point and then walk down which would take about 3 hours.

Since we're yet to experience a spell of 7-8 hours without a long spell of pouring rain, the choice was easy, and we hopped into a cab, having managed to pick up some fresh fruit as snacks for the walk . The ride up was eventful initself, the rains the night before had caused huge land/mud/rockslides which had to be navigated. Some rocks were about half the size of the car we were in. Fortunately, the mountain stayed intact both on the drive up and the walk down.

The ruins that we walked down through were a fairly complete set of Incan sites. There were two 'urban' areas (it only signifies that people lived there, not that they are of any size), a recreational bath, a military complex, a cemetary, storehouses, temples and a lot of terraces used for farming or sometimes just to prevent landslides. (note to Peruvian government: there seems to have been a great deal of knowlegde lost here). These sites were nestled in very protected nooks and crannies of the mountains, so you never really see the next one until you turn a corner, and there it magically appears, and you kind of wonder how you failed to notice it before. But then the path itself requires a lot of attantion, there are long drops, steep stairs, tunnels and ledges that may or may not have wooden railings. But that all aids in cementing the image of the Inca's and their ingenuity and dedication. And their eyes for fantastic spots to settle down in, though they are spoilt for choice.

Once we'd navigated the steep and at the end rain-wet (good call catching that cab) slippery slopes back down to the village, we got lunch and then went shopping for local Peruvian arts and crafts to bring home and adorn the house with when we get back. This was probably the best market we've been to through out our trip so far. Not the biggest one but there was some really nice clothes, statues, blankets, full-size rugs and jewellery on offer, and the fruit was great. So with distinctively less space in our bags we headed to Cusco - again- where we'll cath the early morning bus to Puno and a few days by Lake Titicaca. Wonder if its got any nice beaches...

El Valle Sagrado de los Incas

Actually, the Sacred Valley covers more than just the four ruins found just outside of Cusco that we visited today, it actually includes Macchu Picchu, Ollantaytambo and Pisaq to name a few. But when tourists do a Sacred Vally tour, it usually just includes the ones that we visited today.

Of course, we didn't take no stinkin' tour! We are independent travellers so we were determined to visit the four sites at our own pace. The day started nicely enough as we jumped on a local bus and told the conductor that we wanted to get off at the first of the sites, Tambomachay. The four ruins that we were targeting today are within 8 km of Cusco so we decided that the best way to get around would be by foot. Map in hand, water in our backpack and the shining sun to warm our steps, what could possibly go wrong?

Now I could just go on with some history or story about each ruin, but to be honest, one Inca ruin is pretty much like another and as we started to climb the hill to the first site when disaster struck! It started to rain. No problem we thought as I dutifully took out my rain poncho now affectionaltely dubbed "the tent", it's only 9am, the real rain isn't supposed to start until at least 1pm so this must be a glitch. But this was no glitch. The rest of the day followed the now familiar pattern. While we were walking to the next ruin, the rain thankfully eased up a bit and when we arrived at the ancient, priceless, Inca site, the rain started to bucket.

Nevertheless, we did enjoy our day and the sight of the impressive stones at Saqsaywaman or the labyrinth at Q'enqo made the day worthwhile. And as we sat at Jack's Cafe in Cusco tucking into our sandwiches we both agreed that we had had and amaizing day.